Fire fighting cabinets or stations, each of which includes a fire hose connected to a water valve, are provided in schools, hospitals, office buildings, and factories throughout the United States. Because a rapid response to a fire can prevent the loss of a structure and can save people from being seriously injured or killed, such fire fighting stations are desirably maintained in a condition of readiness. Thus, it is important that fire hoses are available at the stations and that the hoses are maintained in a "hooked up" condition connected to the water valve so that the time it takes to respond to a fire is minimized. When fire fighting stations are maintained in such a condition of readiness, the fire fighter can respond rapidly to a fire by simply directing the hose nozzle at the fire and opening a single valve.
It presently is relatively easy to disconnect and remove fire hoses from the fire fighting stations. This presents problems because such hoses are frequently removed by personnel not authorized to do so. For instance, in factories, fire hoses are sometimes disconnected and removed from the stations for use in clean-up operations. Often, the hoses are damaged during such use and sometimes they are not replaced in their "hooked up" condition at the station. In any event, during unauthorized use, such a fire hose is not available at the fire fighting station for fighting fires.
Fire hoses are also frequently stolen from fire fighting stations for personal use.
Unauthorized use or theft of fire hoses is expensive because of the cost to replace damaged or stolen hoses and also because when such fire hoses are not in place when needed, response time to a fire can be significantly increased.
Therefore, there is a need for a relatively inexpensive and easy to install locking device for preventing unauthorized removal of a fire hose from its "hooked up" condition on a water valve.